How do I get Ds (3) to stay in his bedroom in the early mornings?

[bumbling]

Have heard of clever way to keep kids from coming into your bedroom from a certain time. Please help the constant 5.30 am is killing me and I want to try and persuade him to stay in his room until at least 6.30am before coming to wake us up unless he needs help. His room is full of toys and books and is child friendly and has a toddler gate on so he could be in there without feeling like the door was shut and no one can hear him. We sleep right next door.

What can I do?!

[OverYOURDeadBody]

get him a clock, tell him he's not allowed to come out of his room until 7 am (some people use a bunny clock). Start him off with a sticker chart to give him an incentive in the first two weeks, with a nice reward if he gets, say at least ten stickers for good sleeping.

Every time he comes into your room before that time, just take him straight back and say "it's not seven o'clock yet".

[christiana]

Message withdrawn

[OverYOURDeadBody]

mond you, I implemented this with some success but DS is 5 now and still comes into my room before 7 at least three times a week

[bumbling]

Overyour I dream of some succes so that sounds worth a try. What's the bunny clock?

Christiana he can't get through the toddler gate. If he tried, my head, although sleeping is about 2 feet away with an open door so I hope I'd hear/spot him. He's never tried before...

I have heard of other people trying lights on timers, alarm clocks. Anything else?

[OverYOURDeadBody]

It's definately worth a try, but the trick is that you have to implement it consistantly, rather than just sometimes.

I also found, at the weekends when I needed a lie-in, that letting DS go downstairs and watch a dvd in the morning would help me get a little bit more sleep

[cluelessnchaos]

I just send them back, if it is before 7 I act as if it is 2am, not a second of wavering, aagghhh it is still the middle of the night, back to bed, back to sleep.

[bumbling]

Is 3 too young to let him watch dvd on his own downstairs while I/we sleep?

Must admit I tried sending him back this am but only got me to 5.45 in the end. Couldn't stand the whinging any longer! I'll try again tomorrow since I have no new gizmos to try yet!

[OverYOURDeadBody]

I don't think 3 is too young to watch a dvd downstairs while you sleep, but it probably depends on the child. I tought DS how to switch the computer on and put a dvd in to watch (no tv) at 3.5 yrs, and my life was transformed. He'd still always ask first, and obviously only had access to his own dvds.

[christiana]

Message withdrawn

[LazyLinePainterJane]

Well DS (2.10) started coming in early recently. We returned him to his room, back to bed, though said he could play, and said it was too early. Continued to do this until acceptable time, then he could come into bed.

It has taken a lot of returning (couple of weeks of every day) but now 96% of the time, he stays in his room, asleep or playing until a bit later. And he is happy.

[bumbling]

Could shut the gate but would rather do something that he understands so it's his choice rather than forcing him to stay there.

Lazyline, that sounds hopeful. Suddenly occured to me this eve maybe I could get a cheap and player and teach him how to use it so he can use his favourite stories or something. With many other things where I've tried to get him to change by introducing something exciting at the same time it seems takes the edge off the new regime and makes it feel exciting and worthwhile for him.

[FrannyandZooey]

I think the quickest and easiest way is to wait about 3 years

sorry

[reindeermum]

We have a bunny clock which works well for our 3 year old - you press a button to close the bunny's eyes at bed time, then you can set what time they ping open, so the child understands that he can't get up until the bunny is awake.

You can get them from Blooming Marvellous I think.

We have ours set to wake up at 6am which I think is reasonable at this time of year when it is so light so early - 7 o'clock would be way too optimistic in the middle of summer!

[NellyTheElephant]

With DD1 (now nearly 3 and a half), if it's before 7am and she's making too much noise I go into the whole 'shhh.. it's the middle of the night' routine. When we went through a bad patch a few months ago I also went for the old favourite of sticker reward charts, which worked brilliantly - if she was quiet until I came into her room in the morning then she got a sticker. I can't shut the gate across her room as she usually gets up sometime between 6.30 and 7.30 to go to the loo. She has really got the message now not to come into our room until we tell her to. We still get woken though - loud over exaggerated 'shhhhhhs' to DD2 followed by much giggling from both of them! On the weekends when DH and I might have a lie in (ha ha) to maybe 8am, she'll now dump loads of toys into DD2's cot and read her books and play etc until we get them up. I think if you are strict about returning them to their room until you come and get them then they soon learn.

[bumbling]

So useful. Agree that 6 is more reasonable but the 5.30 (well strictly speaking 5.10 he stirs and it takes him until 5.30 to actually come in) does seem too much! Bunny clock looks very intersting and a bit of retail therapy may help if FrannyandZ is right afterall!

Thanks to all.